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Getting back to the neglected Masked Mail, I got several questions re: CBS decisions in the upfront.
"Not quite sure the reason behind the cancellation of 'Kevin Can Wait.' It was the highest-rated of the comedies on Monday. Something behind the scenes?
"It seems that CBS only canceled Monday night series. Is there some reason these particular shows were deemed less valuable than some that were renewed? I'm thinking the above-mentioned 'KCW' but also 'Superior Donuts' and 'Scorpion'. I was thinking before that technically CBS could have renewed their entire schedule and been safe.
"Why is a second season of 'Instinct' better than a fifth season of 'Scorpion'? I know that 'Instinct' performs well for the audience that CBS has on Sundays, but to get it to profitability they would have to carry on with it for three full seasons to get syndication dollars. I know 'Scorpion' didn't attract much interest in syndication so far, but wouldn’t it be a better bet at this point?"
Regarding "Kevin Can Wait," I can only speculate, but they made a decision after Season 1 to do a restart, and I don't think it had the results that they were hoping for. Furthermore, this show is shot on Long Island, and that may have influenced the cost of production, making it too expensive to continue. There may have been issues with the talent, but I can only speculate on that.
CBS has been a solid player on Monday night, but I think they felt that they needed to make some changes, and I assume they didn't have enough comedies to fill two nights. "Man with a Plan" and "Life in Pieces" are on the bench, but CBS likes to have some backup in case of failure, and they are taking a bit of a gamble 8-9 on Monday night. I thought they might move "Mom" over to Monday to pair with "Murphy Brown," but it looks like they wanted to build the strongest Thursday comedy block, which makes sense given it is Thursday night.
Regarding "Instinct," I'm sure CBS did the math and factored in all the platforms as well as international. They may have been some talent factors as well. It's not on the fall schedule, and I assume they are only making 13 episodes next season, but at this point CBS must feel there is some upside to the show, while "Scorpion" had already seen its best days.
***
Here's a little something from SOMGWTF:
"Is it cheaper to make a multi- or single-camera sitcom?"
I don't think the difference in cost is a function of single- vs. multi-cam, but rather in the "above the line" cost of talent (writers, directors, actors etc.). That is more likely to determine the cost of an episode.
Lots of Masked Mail to go through. My email is masked.scheduler@gmail.com, and follow along on Twitter @maskedscheduler.

Broadcast primetime live + same-day ratings for Monday, May 28, 2018

Note: NBC’s live NHL broadcast may result in greater adjustments than usual for the network in the final ratings.

The numbers for Monday:

Time

Show

Adults 18-49 rating/share

Viewers (millions)

8 p.m.

Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 (NBC) (8-11 p.m.)

1.6/6

4.84

The Bachelorette (ABC) (8-10 p.m.) – P

1.4/5

5.55

Mom (CBS) – R

0.6/3

4.12

Lucifer (FOX) (8-10 p.m.)

0.5/2

2.41

Supergirl (The CW)

0.4/2

1.56

8:30 p.m.

Man with a Plan (CBS) – R

0.5/2

3.65

9 p.m.

NCIS: New Orleans (CBS) – R

0.4/2

3.79

iZombie (The CW) – F

0.2/1

0.76

10 p.m.

The Crossing (ABC)

0.5/2

2.73

Elementary (CBS)

0.4/2

3.96

“The Bachelorette” began its season with a guy in a chicken suit and ratings in line with last season’s debut. The show premiered with a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49, off 0.1 from last year’s 1.5 (total viewers were down slightly as well, 5.55 million vs. 5.68 million in 2017).

Game 1 of the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals drew 4.84 million viewers and a 1.6 in adults 18-49 for NBC, pending updates. That led the night and was on par with last year’s opening game (4.85 million, 1.7).

“iZombie” ended its season with a 0.2 on The CW, even with last week and with its season average. “Supergirl” scored a 0.4, also even with last week.

Two episodes of “Lucifer” averaged 0.5 for FOX. “The Crossing” scored a 0.5 for ABC and “Elementary” a 0.4 for CBS.

Network averages:

NBC

ABC

CBS

FOX

CW

Adults 18-49 rating/share

1.6/6

1.1/4

0.5/2

0.5/2

0.3/1

Total Viewers (millions)

4.84

4.61

3.88

2.41

1.16

Definitions:

Rating: Estimated percentage of the universe of TV households (or other specified group) tuned to a program in the average minute. Ratings are expressed as a percent.Fast Affiliate Ratings: These first national ratings are available at approximately 11 a.m. ET the day after telecast. The figures may include stations that did not air the entire network feed, as well as local news breaks or cutaways for local coverage or other programming. Fast Affiliate ratings are not as useful for live programs and are likely to differ significantly from the final results, because the data reflect normal broadcast feed patterns.
Share (of Audience): The percent of households (or persons) using television who are tuned to a specific program, station or network in a specific area at a specific time.
Time Shifted Viewing: Program ratings for national sources are produced in three streams of data – Live, Live +Same-Day and Live +7 Day. Time-shifted figures account for incremental viewing that takes place with DVRs. Live+SD includes viewing during the same broadcast day as the original telecast, with a cut-off of 3 a.m. local time when meters transmit daily viewing to Nielsen for processing. Live +7 ratings include viewing that takes place during the 7 days following a telecast.

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Posted by:Rick Porter

Rick Porter has been covering TV since the days when networks sent screeners on VHS, one of which was a teaser for the first season of "American Idol." He's left-handed, makes a very solid grilled cheese and has been editor of TV by the Numbers since October 2015. He lives in Austin.

[…] Ratings are in from Monday night, and the show’s premiere basically did the same as Rachel’s premiere, other than being down .1 (1.4) in the rating and 100k less viewers (5.5 million). However, Rachel’s season didn’t start on a holiday, whereas Becca’s did. Because if you go back to Rachel’s second episode, which aired on Memorial Day 2017, it was down from it’s premiere. And the season before that with JoJo, her premiere did 6.7 million and a 2.0 rating. But her second episode, which aired Memorial Day of 2016, dropped to 5.8 million and a 1.6 rating. The following week it was back up to 6.8 million and a 2.0 rating. So yeah, you’re just automatically going to get lower ratings on an episode that runs on a holiday. It’s inevitable and the numbers prove that out. […]